After a tumultuous few months of firings, a labor dispute and a temporarily shuttered cafe, employees at Rising Star Coffee Roasters have voted to form a union across its six coffee shops and roastery in Cleveland.
"We're really excited, and kind of shocked," said Nia Gatewood, who has worked as a barista at the local chain's Lakewood location since 2022. "We saw a lot of animosity ... so we're really relieved, and everyone seems really supportive and excited to keep it moving."
Tensions between employees and the local chain's ownership kicked up last summer, after two employees at the Lakewood location sought medical attention for carbon monoxide exposure after a shift. The incident catalyzed a call for unionization among some Lakewood employees, who alleged longstanding frustration and fear of retaliation from ownership.
That conflict came to a head on Aug 3., when ownership announced they would be closing the Lakewood cafe several hours early, prompting an organized "sip in" — a play on the term "sit in," which refers to occupying a place as a form of protest — in which hundreds of customers lined up to buy coffee 15 minutes before the scheduled close time with the intention to keep the shop open.
The owners sent employees from other locations — and eventually, Lakewood police — to close the shop, which remained shuttered for more than a month.
Only two of the shop's employees, including Gatewood, were rehired. She said returning to work was "emotionally draining."
"I was extremely, extremely anxious," Gatewood said of her return. "I was so scared. I had a feeling that no one liked me, that the managers didn't like me, maybe the people that they were hiring to work with me wouldn't like me either because they could tell them these terrible stories about the Lakewood staff."
The incident amplified concerns among other staff, Gatewood said. Then several employees were fired from the Tremont location in the fall.
"People really got fired up that more baristas were fired, and the energy was just very passionate," Gatewood said.
The union vote passed Jan. 7.
The union and ownership are now in the bargaining phase.
Rising Star was founded in 2012. Founder Kim Jenkins sold the chain in 2020 to three employees, Dawn Fox, Bruno Green and Brandon Riggs, and one investor, Cristo Kallas. In addition to the Lakewood shop, there are locations in Cleveland Heights, Hingetown, Tremont, Downtown and Van Aken Market Hall in Shaker Heights, as well as a roastery.
The coffee chain employs about 60 staff members.
Rising Star ownership did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
